Drawing a single-line diagram in Volter, step by step

Drawing a single-line diagram in seven steps

1. 1

   Create the project

   A new project asks for three things: the installation address, your details as the installer and the installation itself, with the voltage (1x230V up to 3x400V+N) and the EAN codes. Those details go into the footer of your PDF. You can save your installer details, and Volter fills them in for your next project.

   

2. 2

   Set up the distribution board

   In the Distribution board tab you start with the main board: the main RCD with its current rating, short-circuit capacity and residual current. Whether it is 2P or 4P follows from the voltage you chose. Then you add RCDs and circuit breakers.

   For each circuit breaker you fill in what belongs on the diagram: current rating, poles, curve, short-circuit capacity, cross-section, number of cores, cable type (XVB, XGB, VOB or EXVB), CPR class and how the cable runs: in the wall, surface-mounted or underground, in conduit or not. The circuit letters A, B, C follow the order on the rail.

   You add a sub-board with "Add board". Volter then puts a supply breaker on the main board itself, and the circuits of the new board get the board code in front of their letter, such as T-A.

   

3. 3

   Place the devices on the plan

   In the Floor plan tab you place light points, switches, socket outlets and appliances such as a hob, an EV charging station or an inverter where they go in the house. You don't have to draw walls. How to build the floor plan is explained in drawing a floor plan.

4. 4

   Assign the devices to circuits

   Pick the "Assign circuit" tool (shortcut Y), click a circuit in the list and click the devices that belong on it. Click a device again and it comes off. Devices you link with a connection, such as a switch and its light point, move together.

   An example: circuit B "Sockets kitchen and storage room" gets a 20 A breaker with 2.5 mm², and you click the socket outlets in both rooms. An EV charging station goes on a circuit of its own with its own RCD, because the AREI requires it, and Volter flags it if you forget.

   At the bottom of the screen you see how many devices on this storey have no circuit yet.

   

5. 5

   Check the single-line diagram

   The Single-line diagram tab shows, per board, the diagram Volter has drawn. On the main board that means the kWh meter, the main RCD and the earthing branch. Every circuit shows its letter, the breaker (for example 1P - B16A, 3kA), the cable (XVB Cca 3G2,5) and the symbol for the installation method.

   Devices you have connected sit together on one branch, with the switch first. Three or more identical devices in a row become one symbol with the count next to it, such as x9. The legend at the bottom only contains the symbols you use.

6. 6

   Add devices from the diagram

   If you think of a device while going over the diagram, you don't have to go back to the plan. Pick the type in the palette and click a plus sign: above a circuit for a new branch, or to the right of a branch to add the device to it.

   

   That device appears on the diagram right away and goes into the "Not yet placed" list. You place it on the plan later with shortcut W. Until then the AREI check reminds you, because the AREI requires every device to appear on the floor plan too.

   

7. 7

   Check and export

   The AREI check runs while you draw. A finding looks like this: Circuit "Kitchen": socket outlets require at least 2.5mm² wire (currently 1.5mm²). Which rules Volter checks is described under AREI validation.

   The PDF bundles a cover page, the floor plan per storey, the single-line diagram per board on landscape A4, the circuit table and the bill of materials. The footer carries the installation address, the voltage and EAN codes, your details and an empty box for the inspector. For the PDF you need to be online and signed in. A PNG of one storey or one board is possible too.

Home automation on the single-line diagram

You add a home automation module to the distribution board like a circuit breaker. You choose a switching or dimming module, its width in DIN modules, which breaker or RCD it sits behind and which power supply module feeds it. Then you give the outputs a name.

Every output is a circuit of its own with an address, such as D.1 or D.2. You assign light points, push buttons and detectors to it like to any other circuit. On the diagram the module is a named block on the circuit that feeds it, with a branch per output. The power supply gets a block of its own with a transformer and its voltage, and the controls refer to their output.

Turn off "Home automation controlled" and Volter draws a conventional switching or dimming module, without the home automation symbol.

The AREI check looks at this too: a module without a power supply, a module sitting directly behind an RCD without a circuit breaker, or an output with no load on it.

Plan and diagram stay in step

The diagram is not a free drawing. You don't drag symbols or draw loose lines on it. The order of the circuits comes from the rail of your distribution board, the branches from the connections on the plan. To move a circuit, drag its breaker in the distribution board. That way plan and diagram can never drift apart.

The AREI check catches a lot, but it is an aid and not a guarantee. Making sure the diagram matches the installation remains your job.